


The Smell of the Forest

by wingedlioness



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, mentions of Snowing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:03:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6560284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedlioness/pseuds/wingedlioness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: “The back of my vehicle is the only comfortable place to sleep and we’re in the middle of nowhere, so it’s either there or you can sleep outside for all I care” au</p>
<p>OQ fluff with background CS and Snowing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Smell of the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first real try at Outlaw Queen, so I do apologize for anything terribly OOC.

Damn Mary Margaret. Damn her and her insistence that the group couldn't afford to blow their budget on a nice, chauffeured bus. Damn her disgustingly optimistic plea that “it'd be a great way to get to know each other!” Damn her, damn her sickeningly sweet boyfriend, and his two friends that sided with them. Now she was stuck, in the woods, in the middle of nowhere with the one who appeared to delight in aggravating her above all other activities. 

Regina dropped her head against the wheel. It honked loudly and a yelp echoed from under the hood. 

“Sorry, could you wait to do that when I'm  _ not _ in front of the car?”

Her face turned red as his gorgeous eyes peered around the engine cover. She looked away, muttering a quick “sorry.” She could see his stupidly attractive lips turn up as he went back to work.

Her phone buzzed, providing a timely distraction. 

**Emma: I'm going to kill her.**

Regina laughed. At least she wasn't the only one Mary Margaret had managed to screw over with this little road trip. Although she knew the only reason Emma was complaining was because of how much harder it was for her to deny the ridiculous sexual tension between her and Killian when they were stuck alone together. Regina shook her head ruefully. She couldn't comprehend why Emma bothered with the denial. The man clearly worshiped the ground at her feet and Emma reciprocated more than her share of the yearning looks. There was no accounting for some people.

She jumped as Robin propped himself by the window. 

“A laugh? A rare sight indeed.”

“I laugh,” she glared back. “And warn a person before you sneak up on them, would you?”

“Ah, but then it wouldn’t be sneaking, now would it?” 

She narrowed her eyes further at the charming smile he threw her way. He thought he was so attractive, all enticing accent and boy-next-door appeal. 

**Regina: Please, I have dibs.**

**Emma: No way.**

**Emma: Do you know what he’s been doing?**

**Emma: SINGING**

**Emma: I think he’s trying to make me like him.**

**Emma: Or seduce me.**

**Emma: Seriously, this isn’t good.**

Regina looked up to see Robin still gazing at her.

“What?”

“Just enjoying the view. You get this little crinkle right here,” he traced his finger along her cheekbone, “when you’re truly smiling. It’s a lovely sight.”

She willed herself to not lean into his touch. Her phone continued buzzing as she found herself lost in his eyes.

He chuckled softly and backed away towards the engine again. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

She couldn’t help her tongue darting out along her lower lip as he shrugged his jacket off. The tshirt underneath did nothing but accentuate his muscular arms...her phone buzzed again. 

**Emma: You know I have a weakness for musicians.**

**Emma: Did you know he could sing?**

**Emma: Help**

**Emma: He’s good.**

**Emma: I mean, REALLY good.**

**Emma: REGINA**

**Emma: HELP**

Regina rolled her eyes. Hopefully this would be the wake up call her friend needed. Actually, if it worked, she should buy Mary Margaret a drink before killing her.

**Regina: Maybe you should just kiss him.**

**Regina: I’m pretty sure that would shut him up.**

**Regina: Although...he is quite vocal. I imagine he’d be that way regardless of the activity.**

**Emma: YOU’RE NOT HELPING**

**Emma: I hate you.**

Regina smirked. Emma only responded like that when she lost. She was about to put it down to go check on Robin’s progress when a last flurry of texts came through.

**Emma: Take your own advice.**

**Emma: Kiss Robin.**

**Emma: Then you’ll stop being so grouchy around him.**

**Emma: And the rest of us.**

She dropped the phone. Whatever. Emma was delusional. She obviously had spent too long in denial-land. Regina climbed out of the truck, grimacing as the ground squished under her heels. There weren’t enough words to describe how much she hated the woods. The sight under the hood however… Sure, Robin manage to find (and push) all her buttons but hell if he wasn’t great eye candy. And Regina was never one to waste an opportunity. She casually leaned against the bumper, noting the way his eyes kept flickering over to her. She stifled the urge to smirk. Whatever flaws the man had, at least he had good enough taste to find her distracting. 

“Well, I think that about does it.” 

She couldn’t help following the way his shoulder flexed as he reached up to close the hatch. 

“So we can go now? Get out of this godforsaken forest?”

“I think it’s rather nice, actually. Peaceful.”

“Yeah, that’s great. Can we go now or what?”

“Sure. Can you drive stick?”

Robin tilted his head to the side, eyebrow quirking up at her. She frowned in response.

“What do you mean, can I drive stick? It’s your car, you drive.”

“Ah, but see, I’ve been working on jury-rigging our unfortunate oil leak for the better part of three hours. It’s already after ten pm and frankly, milady, I’m exhausted.” 

He wiped his hands on a nearby rag, avoiding her stare. Regina gaped at him. 

“You have got to be kidding me.”

He sighed and finally met her eyes. She could see the bags under his eyes and felt a pang of guilt. She followed him to the back of the truck and waited as he grabbed a water bottle to make a small attempt to wash his hands and arms.  

“So, what, we’re just going to sleep out here?”

“Tis a fine, warm night. And I can assure you that the back of the truck is quite comfortable.”

Regina eyeballed him and turned to face the truck bed. The extremely cramped, tiny truck bed. 

“You expect me to sleep there, with you?”

Robin shrugged and made his way back to the cab, rummaging behind the seats. “If you don’t like the accommodations, milady, you're welcome to the forest floor instead."

“Stop calling me your lady. And why don’t you offer to sleep on the ground, if you think I’m a lady?”

She caught a twinkle in his eyes as his mouth twitched, visibly holding back laughter. She fought the urge to step back as he invaded her space, only the blankets in his arms separating them. 

“Well,  _ Regina, _ it is my truck, as you so kindly pointed out, so I fail to see why I should not benefit from its comfort.” He dropped his voice as he drew level with her ear. “And the blankets will be staying with me.”

He left her stupefied in his wake, throwing the blankets in the back to start creating a makeshift bed. She gritted her teeth as her mind stopped reeling from his proximity. Two could play that game, and like hell if she was sleeping on the forest floor. Just, no. 

She grabbed her jacket from the cab. She was really grateful the night was still fairly warm, or this horrible idea would be even worse. Robin was waiting at the back, looking almost repentant. She pursed her lips expectantly at him. 

He extended a hand to her, “ladies first.”

“Oh, so now you care?” 

She took his hand and he helped leverage her up. As she settled down on one side, Regina heard him sigh something that sounded awfully like “I always care.” She felt butterflies in her stomach as he climbed in beside her but resolutely faced the opposite way. Even though he was very careful to respect her space, she could still feel the heat rolling off him, trying to draw her in. 

It didn’t take long for his breathing to even out. Regina waited until he was definitely asleep before turning over. She could see some stars peeking through the trees, and found herself simply enjoying the moment. Here she was, in the middle of nowhere, lying under the open sky, with a man she could no longer ignore. She shifted a bit more, her legs knocking against his. He murmured what could have been her name before his arm made its way across her midsection. She tried not to gasp as he buried his nose in her hair. She stared at the stars for a long moment before deciding that if he could take such liberties while asleep, she was allowed to savour the moment. She ran her legs fully along his and snuggled their torsos together. His warmth seeped into her bones, her eyes finally falling shut.

Maybe she shouldn’t kill Mary Margaret after all.


End file.
